Pages

Friday, June 24, 2011

Magical Blogorail: Favorite WS Pavilion

Welcome to those of you joining me from Adventures of a Disney Princess and those of you who have just hopped aboard. I am the 2nd stop on our Magical Blogorail.

Our theme this month is our favorite World Showcase Pavilion. When I first read our topic, I immediately took a mental stroll around the Lagoon thinking about what I liked about each country. I narrowed it down to three: America, England and Italy. After doing some heavy thinking and having a discussion with my husband, I decided that Italy was really my favorite country. And it just happens to be where my great grandparents lived! (They didn't live in Epcot, they lived in Genoa, Italy!)

In 2007, Jonathan and I went on our honeymoon to Italy. While in Italy, we spent time in Rome, Pompeii, Assisi, Naples, Lake Como, Pisa, Florence, Genoa and Venice. I absolutely fell in LOVE with Venice. I loved everything about it. Each time we visited Italy in Epcot, since our honeymoon in 2007, I was brought back to those nights and days walking around the canals of Venice. The imagineers did an incredible job of replicating Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. I did a post a few months ago comparing the Real Italy to the Epcot Italy. Here are a few photos comparing the two. Epcot is on the left and Venice, Italy is on the right.

Another favorite of the Italy Pavilion is Sergio. Sergio is a street performer mime. He is very similar to the mimes or performers you would find in the piazzas of Italy. Sergio juggles and blows a whistle to "communicate" with the crowd. He does a phenomenal job of including everyone in his shows. Kids and adults of all ages enjoy his performances with smiles and laughter as he chooses some special guests to participate with him! Our family has spent several hours watching him perform and we've even waited around for a second performance!

While I have not eaten at the restaurants in the Italy Pavilion yet, I am dying to try Via Napoli! This is the new table service pizzeria that opened in September of 2010. From what I've read it is an authentic Italian pizzeria that features wood burning ovens that are names after the three volcanoes in Italy: Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli. Tutto Italia is the other full service restaurant in Italy that serves lunch and dinner.

The shopping in Italy reminds me so much of the shops in Venice! Delizie Italiane sells Italian candy and chocolates. La Cucina Italiana sells wines, pastries, cookware and gourmet foods. Il Bel Cristallo sells Murano crystal, glassware, figurines and decorative items. Italy is a great place to buy Christmas presents for family members!I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Italy! Please comment and let me know what you love about Italy or which of the World Showcase countries is your favorite!

Thank you for joining me today.Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is Disney on Wheels.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Loop should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

11 comments:

I love the Italy pavilion too! It takes me back to 1975, when my family lived in Italy for 5 months while my dad was on business over there. I turned 5 over there!

I am NOT a fan of Venice though. Maybe it has changed over the years, but when we were there it was VERY dirty. And there was this creepy man that followed us around and kept staring at me. I think my mom was afraid he was going to try to kidnap me, so she held onto me very tight! LOL I still remember that, though, and it's not really a fond memory.

Love it! Love the comparisons - they really did their homework. What an amazing place to honeymoon, too! We just ate at Via Napoli.. No ADR, walked up just after 5 and were seating after just a few minutes and as a non-pizza fan, it was AMAZING. I'll have more about that eventually.. hope you get to try it soon!

I loved the comparison between the real Italy and Epcot's. I know every time I go I feel like I'm in the real country and even though I have not been to any of the countries for real, I always feel like I have been there because it has been so well re-created by Disney.Thanks for sharing...